With Jets Trade, Aaron Rodgers gets his call: a team desperate for him

The Green Bay Packers traded quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Jets Monday, ending a three-year power struggle between the Packers and one of pro football’s leading passers.

After a relatively lengthy negotiation process, the Jets agreed to trade the No. 13 overall pick in this year’s draft, as well as two later round picks and a conditional second round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, in exchange for Rodgers, the No. 15 harvest and a later round harvest. The transaction, which was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the terms who was not authorized to speak publicly, was first reported by ESPN.

The deal for Rodgers had been imminent since March when he said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he intended to play for the Jets this season. In the six weeks since that confirmation, the Jets and Packers leaders publicly said the trade would take place, but the teams came to an agreement only three days before the NFL draft was due to begin in Kansas City, Mo.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said at a news conference Monday that it was “unfortunate and disappointing” that he had not spoken to Rodgers since the end of the season, but that he was “very excited” to continue with Jordan Love, who had been behind Rodgers for some time. the past three seasons.

Since quarterback Joe Namath led the Jets to their only Super Bowl appearance, a victory in January 1969, the franchise has struggled to find a long-term successor. The team has used first round picks to determine its ranking: Richard Todd in 1976, Ken O’Brien in 1983, Chad Pennington in 2000, Mark Sanchez in 2009, Sam Darnold in 2018 and Zach Wilson in 2021.

In the promising 2022 season, the Jets started 6-3 behind one of the best defenses in the league and a talented offense. But mediocre quarterback play was the team’s most glaring shortcoming, and it ultimately kept the Jets out of the playoffs for the 10th straight season. Now the Jets get Rodgers, who must position the Jets as championship contenders.

Rodgers, 39, spent 18 seasons at Green Bay, winning the league’s Most Valuable Player Award four times, most recently in 2020 and 2021. But he had become increasingly dissatisfied with the direction of the franchise and his lack of input into personnel decisions.

Rodgers became the Packers’ starter in 2008, three years after the team drafted him with California’s 24th overall pick, Berkeley. He replaced Hall of Famer Brett Favre, who had one title in 16 seasons at Green Bay before the Packers traded him to the Jets.

Rodgers quickly assuaged fans’ nostalgia for Favre. After a six-win season in his first year as a starter, Rodgers made the Pro Bowl in the 2009 season after leading the Packers to an 11–5 record. In his third season as a starter, Rodgers and Green Bay won a Super Bowl title against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He followed the championship with arguably the best season of his career. Rodgers won his first MVP Award and finished with the most career passing yards (4,643) and the highest quarterback rating (122.5) in NFL history. Rodgers also holds the record for the second highest quarterback rating, 121.5, set in the 2020 season.

Favre became the first and only quarterback to win MVP in three consecutive seasons from 1995 to 1997. Beginning in 2003, the award was traded between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, two generations of quarterbacks who won six of nine MVP Awards before Rodgers crashed the party.

Rodgers became a face of the NFL, known both for his endorsements with State Farm and Adidas and for posting some of the best statistical performances of any quarterback of his era. But another championship evaded him and the Packers, while Brady, Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes have all won at least two Super Bowls.

The Packers lost five times in the NFC championship game to Rodgers under center, a playoff hurdle that revealed the gap between the quarterback and his team as of January 2020 after a big loss to the San Francisco 49ers in that round.

Prior to that year’s draft, Rodgers criticized the Packers for not using first-round picks on wide receivers that could pair alongside then-starter Davante Adams. “We haven’t picked a skill player in the first round in 15 years, so that would be cool,” Rodgers said in an interview.

Green Bay team executives drafted Love that year with the 26th overall pick, a move that appeared to mirror Rodgers’ selection in 2005, when a veteran Favre was the team’s starter.

Rodgers responded with one of his best seasons, leading the league in completion percentage (70.7) and touchdown passes (48) – and another loss in the conference championship game.

In the off-season, Rodgers cooked in private and in public appearances on podcasts, and even as he was a guest host the TV game show “Jeopardy!” The tension peaked in April 2021, when ESPN reported that Rodgers had asked to be traded.

In July 2021, Rodgers skipped the mandatory mini-camp, but later attended a training camp, where he covered the gap in his first press conference. “I just expressed my desire to be more involved in conversations that directly affect my job,” he said, explaining his desire for a greater role in the team’s personnel decisions.

But the season was defined as much by Rodgers’ performance as by the reasons for his absence. He tested positive for the coronavirus in November, months after telling reporters he had been “immunized” against the disease. Rodgers, in two podcast interviews that month, denounced the league’s vaccination mandate and “awake culture”. The NFL later fined him $14,650 for violating protocols for unvaccinated players, including not wearing a mask during his weekly press conferences and attending a Halloween party.

Despite the conflicts, Rodgers again excelled in the 2021 season, throwing 37 touchdown passes to just four interceptions, leading the NFL in passer rating and leading the Packers to a 13–4 record during another MVP campaign. The team lost in the divisional round of the playoffs, but in the off-season, Rodgers signed a three-year contract extension with a reported $150 million in guaranteed money.

In March 2022, the Packers traded Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Packers’ offense struggled. Green Bay missed the playoffs and lost the last game of the season to the Detroit Lions, a team that has beaten Rodgers 18 times in his career.

When reports of Rodgers’ interest in the Jets emerged on social media in the weeks leading up to the transaction, Jets players openly competed for his services. Ahmad Gardner, the Jets cornerback known as Sauce, donned a Packers fan’s cheesehead hat after the team beat Green Bay last season. He burned the hat along with other Jets teammates on a video intended to recruit Rodgers.

The Jets’ campaign for Rodgers came just two seasons after selecting Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick, but Wilson rarely seemed to be the focal point of the franchise. He was sitting on the couch in November 2022, after the offense gained just 2 yards in the second half of a 10-3 loss to the New England Patriots.

Now entering the third year of his rookie contract, Wilson is expected to play backup behind Rodgers, who received the blessing of being the franchise’s most successful quarterback in March. As the Jets sought the trade, Namath invited Rodgers to continue wearing the number 12, which both quarterbacks share, despite the team having retired the jersey in Namath’s honor.

Rodgers could wear the No. 8 instead, which he wore in college. That number was occupied last season by receiver Elijah Moore, who was traded to the Cleveland Browns last month as the Jets reworked the offense.